Vent Cover and Louver Assembly

ABSTRACT

A vent cover and louver assembly includes a housing with a perimeter wall having a first edge and a second edge each defining an opening through which air may be passed through an air passageway of the perimeter wall. Each of a plurality of slats is rotatably mounted to the perimeter wall and traverses the air passageway. The slats are positionable in a closed position or in an open position. A motor is mechanically coupled to each of the slats to move the slats to the closed position or to the open position. A rechargeable battery is electrically coupled to the motor. An electricity producing apparatus is mounted on the housing and is electrically coupled to the battery. The electricity producing apparatus is actuated by air moving through the housing to produce electricity. An interface is in communication with the motor to allow a user to actuate the motor.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE FILED OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure relates to vent cover devices and more particularly pertains to a new vent cover device for remotely controlling airflow throughout a dwelling.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a housing with a perimeter wall having a first edge and a second edge each defining an opening through which air may be passed through an air passageway of the perimeter wall. A flange is attached to and is coextensive with the first edge. The flange is abuttable against a wall surface. A plurality of slats is provided. Each of the slats is rotatably mounted to the perimeter wall and traverses the air passageway. The slats are positionable in a closed position restricting air flowing through the passageway or in an open position allowing air to freely flow through the air passageway. A motor is mechanically coupled to each of the slats to move the slats to the closed position or to the open position. A power supply is electrically coupled to the motor. The power supply comprises a rechargeable battery. An electricity producing apparatus is mounted on the housing and is electrically coupled to the power supply to recharge the power supply. The electricity producing apparatus is actuated by air moving through the housing to produce electricity. An interface is in communication with the motor to allow a user to actuate the motor.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a back perspective view of a vent cover and louver assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a back view of an embodiment of the disclosure having an electricity producing apparatus removed for clarity.

FIG. 4 is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3 of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 3 of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 1 of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 8 thereof, a new vent cover device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 8, the vent cover and louver assembly 10 generally comprises a housing 11 that includes a perimeter wall 12 having a first edge 14 and a second edge 16 each defining an opening through which air may be passed through an air passageway 18 of the perimeter wall 12. The perimeter wall 12 may have a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 1 and is insertable into a vent opening positioned in a floor, wall or ceiling. A flange 20 is attached to and is coextensive with the first edge 14. The flange 20 is abuttable against a wall surface in a conventional manner so that it extends over the edge of the vent opening. The flange 20 may be attached to the wall surface with any conventional fastener.

A plurality of slats 22 is provided. Each of the slats 22 is rotatably mounted to the perimeter wall 12 and traverses the air passageway 18. The slats 22 are positionable in a closed position restricting air flowing through the passageway 18 or in an open position allowing air to freely flow through the air passageway 18. The slats 22 function in a conventional manner but may include curved ends 24 as shown in FIG. 6 which are abuttable against dividing walls 26 mounted in the housing 11 to form a better seal when they are in the closed position. A conventional louver dial 28 may be mounted on the housing 11 and mechanically coupled to the slats 22 to move the slats to a desired percentage of being open. Vent fins 30 may be mounted on the housing 11 between the first edge 14 and the slats 22.

A motor 32 is mechanically coupled to each of the slats 22. The motor 32 is actuated to move the slats 22 to the closed position or to the open position. An override hand crank 34 may be mechanically coupled to override the motor 32. The hand crank 34 may be needed where the louver dial 28 is difficult to rotate due to the interference of the motor 32.

A power supply 34 is electrically coupled to the motor 32. The power supply 34 comprises a rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery, or power supply 34, may include one or more batteries which are positioned in a compartment 36 attached to the housing 11. The compartment 36 has a door 37 to allow access to the batteries should they need replacement.

An electricity producing apparatus 38 is mounted on the housing 11 and is electrically coupled to the power supply 34 to recharge the power supply 34. The electricity producing apparatus 38 is actuated by air moving through the housing 11 to produce electricity. For clarification, the electricity producing apparatus 38 is only shown I FIGS. 1, 4 and 7. The electricity producing apparatus 38 includes a generator 40 that is mounted on the housing 11. A turbine 42 is mechanically coupled to the generator. The turbine 42 is positioned within a path of the air flowing through the air passageway 18. As shown in the Figures, more than one combination of a generator 40 and turbine 42 may be utilized. This may be determined by the efficiency of the turbines 42 and generators 40 as well as the shape of the space being utilized. The turbines 42 may be attached to the housing 11 by brackets 44 and the turbines 42 may also be pivotable with respect to the housing 11 to allow for greater efficiency depending on the shape of duct adjacent to the housing 11.

An interface 46 is in communication with the motor 32 to allow a user to actuate the motor 32. The interface 46 includes a receiver 48 that is electrically coupled to the motor 32. A transmitter 50 is in communication with the receiver to send actuation signals to the receiver 48 to selectively actuate the motor 32. The receiver 48 may either be a wireless or a wired receiver and may be capable of receiving as well as sending signals. If the receiver 48 is wireless, it may be a radio receiver for receiving radio signals from the transmitter 50 by way of radio frequencies. This may be used most generally when the transmitter 50 is coupled to a central air system of a dwelling. The receiver 48 may also include an infrared sensor 49 for receiving signals from the transmitter 50 over the infrared spectrum. Finally, the receiver 48 may be directly wired to the transmitter 50 by a connecting wire 52 where the transmitter 50 is again likely the central air system of the dwelling. However, wireless operation may be preferred for the reasons stated below. The interface 46 itself may further include the utilization of wireless phone signals input by a cellular phone and internet connections accessible by a number of conventional means to control the assembly when a user thereof is either in or away from the dwelling.

A thermostat 54 is mounted on the housing 11 and is in communication with the motor. The thermostat 54 is adjustable to selectively programmable to automatically actuate the motor 32 when predetermined parameters have been achieved such as a particular temperature threshold and/or time settings. The programming may be accomplished manually or with the transmitter 50 by the sending of signals to the receiver 48 to adjust the thermostat 54 as needed. Alternatively, the thermostat 54 may be used as a monitor to send temperature signals to the interface 46, when it include a central air control system, so that the interface 46 may then adjust a plurality of assemblies 10 as needed throughout the dwelling. The thermostat 54 includes a readout display 56 mounted on the flange of the housing.

A light emitter 58 is mounted on the housing 11 and is electrically coupled to the receiver 48. The light emitter 58 is turned on when the receiver 48 receives an emergency signal from the interface 46. While this may take a variety of forms, one form envisioned is when the interface 46 is in communication with a fire/smoke alarm system of the dwelling. When such an alarm is tripped, the interface 46 will turn on the light emitters 58 of the assemblies 10 so that the light emitters 58 may act as emergency lighting for the occupants of the dwelling.

A sound emitter 60 is mounted on the housing 11 and is electrically coupled to the receiver 48. The sound emitter 60 emits sound signals received by the receiver 48 from the interface 46. In this instance, while the sound emitter 60 may emit a sound associated with an emergency, the interface here may incorporate a personal computer, personal music player or other similar device which has music and the like stored thereon for playing over the sound emitter 60. The interface 46 may also be in communication with or include an entertainment system of the dwelling to allow for sound signals from video playing type sources to also be heard over the sound emitter 60.

In use, the assembly 10 is placed is placed in the duct opening of a dwelling so that it may be used to control air flow and, consequently, the temperature of a room in which it is placed. In particular, the assembly 10 will allow control of temperature and airflow in a dwelling for which hard wiring of such control system would be impossible or prohibitively expensive. This will be accomplished by the motor 32 rotating the slats 22 without being wired to a conventional power source as the power therefore is generated by the generator 40. An additional feature is that the connectibility stated herein will allow for the addition of tying together additional systems to the assembly 10 as needed or desired.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. 

1. A vent cover and louver assembly comprising: a housing comprising a perimeter wall having a first edge and a second edge each defining an opening through which air may be passed through an air passageway of said perimeter wall, a flange being attached to and being coextensive with said first edge, said flange being abuttable against a wall surface; a plurality of slats, each of said slats being rotatably mounted to said perimeter wall and traversing said air passageway, said slats being positionable in a closed position restricting air flowing through said passageway or in an open position allowing air to freely flow through said air passageway; a motor being mechanically coupled to each of said slats, said motor being actuated to move said slats to said closed position or to said open position; a power supply being electrically coupled to said motor, said power supply comprising a rechargeable battery; an electricity producing apparatus being mounted on said housing and being electrically coupled to said power supply to recharge said power supply, said electricity producing apparatus being actuated by air moving through said housing to produce electricity; and an interface being in communication with said motor to allow a user to actuate said motor.
 2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said electricity producing apparatus comprises: a generator being mounted on said housing; and a turbine being mechanically coupled to said generator, said turbine being positioned within a path of the air flowing through said air passageway.
 3. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said interface includes: a receiver being electrically coupled to said motor; a transmitter being in communication with said receiver to send actuation signals to said receiver to selectively actuate said motor.
 4. The assembly according to claim 1, further including a thermostat being mounted on said housing and being in communication with said motor, said thermostat being adjustable to selectively programmable to automatically actuate said motor when predetermined parameters have been achieved.
 5. The assembly according to claim 1, further including a light emitter being mounted on said housing and being electrically coupled to said interface, said light emitter being turned on when said receiver receives an emergency signal from said interface.
 6. The assembly according to claim 1, further including a sound emitter being mounted on said housing and being electrically coupled to said interface, said sound emitter emitting sound signals received by said receiver from said interface.
 7. A vent cover and louver assembly comprising: a housing comprising a perimeter wall having a first edge and a second edge each defining an opening through which air may be passed through an air passageway of said perimeter wall, a flange being attached to and being coextensive with said first edge, said flange being abuttable against a wall surface; a plurality of slats, each of said slats being rotatably mounted to said perimeter wall and traversing said air passageway, said slats being positionable in a closed position restricting air flowing through said passageway or in an open position allowing air to freely flow through said air passageway; a motor being mechanically coupled to each of said slats, said motor being actuated to move said slats to said closed position or to said open position; a power supply being electrically coupled to said motor, said power supply comprising a rechargeable battery; an electricity producing apparatus being mounted on said housing and being electrically coupled to said power supply to recharge said power supply, said electricity producing apparatus being actuated by air moving through said housing to produce electricity, said electricity producing-apparatus comprising; a generator being mounted on said housing; a turbine being mechanically coupled to said generator, said turbine being positioned within a path of the air flowing through said air passageway; an interface being in communication with said motor to allow a user to actuate said motor, said interface including; a receiver being electrically coupled to said motor; a transmitter being in communication with said receiver to send actuation signals to said receiver to selectively actuate said motor; a thermostat being mounted on said housing and being in communication with said motor, said thermostat being adjustable to selectively programmable to automatically actuate said motor when predetermined parameters have been achieved; a light emitter being mounted on said housing and being electrically coupled to said receiver, said light emitter being turned on when said receiver receives an emergency signal from said interface; and a sound emitter being mounted on said housing and being electrically coupled to said receiver, said sound emitter emitting sound signals received by said receiver from said interface. 